Abstract
BackgroundChildhood trauma (CT) has been found to contribute to the onset of schizophrenia and auditory sensory gating deficit is a leading endophenotype for schizophrenia. However, the association between the CT and sensory gating in first-episode schizophrenia remains elusive.MethodsFifty-six patients and 49 age and sex-matched healthy controls were assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) for CT and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for symptoms severity. Sensory gating was tested using the modified paradigm, perceived spatial separation-induced prepulse inhibition (PSS-PPI), and the perceived spatial co-location PPI (PSC-PPI or classical PPI).ResultsComparing with healthy controls, the patients had significantly higher score on sexual abuse (t = 2.729, p < 0.05), lower PSS- PPI, % (ISI = 120 ms and ISI = 60 ms) (t = − 3.089, − 4.196, p < 0.05). Univariate analysis revealed the absence of a significant correlation among CT, PPI paradigms and symptoms. However, multiple linear regression analyses demonstrated the CTQ-SF total was negatively associated with PSS PPI (ISI = 120 ms) (p = 0.018).ConclusionThe current study illustrates that the impact of CT on sensory gating in patients with first-episode schizophrenia, and thus we conclude that CT may be a risk factor to the occurrence of schizophrenia through its impact on sensory gating.
Highlights
Childhood trauma (CT) has been found to contribute to the onset of schizophrenia and auditory sensory gating deficit is a leading endophenotype for schizophrenia
We examined the effect of CT on prepulse inhibition (PPI) in patients with first-episode schizophrenia
0.058 0.116 0.754 0.008 0.060 0.097 0.748 0.191 0.003 0.086 0.000 schizophrenia [26]; We found the patients had more severe PPI deficit than healthy controls, which is consistent with findings of other studies [7, 9, 27]
Summary
Childhood trauma (CT) has been found to contribute to the onset of schizophrenia and auditory sensory gating deficit is a leading endophenotype for schizophrenia. PPI impairment has been found to always be associated with core features of schizophrenia, such as aggressive behavior [8] and positive symptoms [9, 10], and relatively stable across treatment conditions [11]. It is considered as an early sign or residual symptom of schizophrenia [12, 13]
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